Mystery wreck off the coast of Key Largo identified as British cargo vessel that sunk in 1911

More than a century after is sunk into the depths off of the coast of Key Largo, the wreckage of the Hannah M. Bell has finally been identified.

Sunk six miles from the coast of Florida, the twisted steel wreckage has long been an attraction for divers but its origin has been a mystery until now.

The National Association of Black Scuba Divers said it has identified the remains as those of the British steel-hull ship that went down in 1911.

Unraveled: NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has identified the remains of an early 20th century shipwreck in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to be those of the British steamship Hannah M. Bell

Built in 1893, the Hannah M. Bell transported raw material like coal, cotton, and sugar around the world.

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The vessel traveled waters from South America to Europe to the Caribbean to both the East and Gulf Coasts in the United States.

'Similar to the way detectives use forensic information to solve a
crime, we compared the dimensions and construction characteristics of
the shipwreck known locally as 'Mike's Wreck' with historic shipping
records in order to solve this mystery,' Matthew Lawrence, a
maritime archaeologist at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
and the project's principal investigator, wrote in a press release.

Measurements of the shipwreck and records for the Hannah M. Bell matched identically

He added that 'measurements of the shipwreck and the records for Hannah M. Bell
were virtually identical, as were the reported sinking location and the
actual location of the wreck.'

The Hannah M. Bell is just one of many vessels to run aground in Florida's reefs and wreckage from the USS Arkansas and the City of Washington ship are close by.

No one was reported killed when the Hannah M. Bell sank, according to Maritime Executive reports, but the ship is believed to have helped pull another vessel down when it the Quoque ran into its wreckage in 1920.

British steel-hulled ship built in 1893 and sailed the waters of the Caribbean, East Coast, and Gulf before sinking in 1911